The Blue-footed Booby could easily qualify as the "National" bird of the Galapagos. It is common on most of the islands, very often photographed, and displays a pair of strikingly blue feet. The intensity of the blue is maintained by natural selection since females prefer males with the bluest feet. Up close it has a stark beauty and mesmerizing stare (photo 8642). The baby Booby has a fluffy white head and neck (9307).

The word booby comes from the Spanish word bobo meaning clown or dunce. This could refer to that fact that the friendly Blue-footed Booby would often land of ships where it was easily killed for food, or because this waddling blue-footed bird looks like a clown.